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Shigeko Yasuda
“''A ballad of screams, a dance floor painted red as a blood-soaked rose, a window twirling amongst a shallow sea of corpses, whist satiation across her blood-stained simper. 'Truly a bloody merry night to behold,' sang the piano that following sunrise.”'' —Somnium Fluxus Shigeko Yasuda (や すだしげこ', 'Yasuda Shigeko) is a mysterious rogue Shinigami said to have once been affiliated with the 4th Division of the Gotei 13 as an unseated officer roughly three-hundred years ago. It is said that Shigeko randomly disappeared from Soul Society around this time; supposedly, she has only recently reemerged within the Human World, a drastically different Shinigami in many ways than before her departure. Most Shinigami of whom were around long enough to recall her existence have strangely forgotten about her entirely. Although she is mostly regarded as nothing more than a forgotten myth, Shinigami who depart in search for her usually do not return, implying that she has either betrayed Soul Society or simply wishes to remain incognito; regardless, having unanimously broken several laws of Shinigami, she is considered a traitor of Soul Society. Due to her persistently elusive nature and her apparent tendency to murder any Shinigami who actively pursue her, she is often referred to as “Kaga no Ketsu” (かさの血液, Blood of the Shadow), and only occasionally referred to as “Kuronuno” (黒布, Black Cloth) due to her trademark black scarf. Although she now owns a small-time bookstore, she appears to have some form of ulterior motive within the Human World; her true allegiance is as of now uncertain. Appearance Shigeko is a woman of slender frame, thin eyebrows and relatively pale skin, giving her a rather frail appearance despite her moderate height. Shigeko seems to have stopped aging physically, leading some to believe that she has somehow gained immortality. Her long black hair is clean-cut at the fringe and styled so that it frames her face and partially drapes over her shoulders to frame her neck, where it is cut shorter. Her eyes are a light blue in coloration. Presumably to distinguish herself from other Shinigami, Shigeko has abandoned the standard Shinigami attire in favor of a monochromatic kimono embellished with a floral pattern worn under a hakama which is likewise patterned at the bottom. Underneath her kimono, she wears black leather armbands. Her sandals are slightly different from that of a common Shinigami's in that they have a single strap of fabric just above the thong. Shigeko always adorns her left shoulder with a featureless black scarf reaching past her knees, a trademark of her fashion. While in her Gigai, Shigeko wears a low-cut white shirt with a large, wide collar, and denim black jeans, accentuated with a small gem necklace and her trademark scarf. The Triple Goddess symbol tattooed above her right breast is plainly visible in this ensemble. As a member of the 4th Division three-hundred years ago, Shigeko wore the standard Shinigami attire and had much shorter hair, although it was styled similarly. Although she still wore a black scarf around her left shoulder, it was noticeably shorter, barely reaching past her hips. Personality In her early years, Shigeko's personally was completely unlike that of a normal child due to her upbringing—she was taciturn, cynical and extremely uneasy in a world she deemed existed for the sole purpose of eternally torturing her. Shigeko states that although she eventually grew accustomed to violence, the reason that she never tried to kill any of the murderers she encountered was partially due to a constant fear of growing up to become no different from them—something she feared more than anything else. It is only after meeting with Urara Kusahara that Shigeko began to develop. While still very sensitive and detached from anyone outside of her adoptive family, she became playful, talkative, and generally cheerful, almost constantly with a smile on her face; nevertheless, she grew dramatically less active whenever Urara was away. She was shown to be quite confident and resolute in her effort to prove herself to others, never giving up on anything she was particularly passionate about. This was partly her reason for wanting to become a Shinigami aside from being closer to Urara; she was, however, heartbroken to the point of tears each time she failed the Shin'o Academy entrance exams. She showed a much more serious and rational side of herself whenever a situation truly demanded it. Shigeko became a devout healer and motivator as a result of her need to psychologically distance herself further from a murderer. Following her reappearance in the Human World, Shigeko has, in some ways, regressed back into the persona she had before her encounter with Urara. Shigeko, more taciturn than ever, rarely speaks unless spoken to except when either taunting an individual or making a cynical remark. She takes a far less blunt approach in her acquired distrust for others, preferring to simply keep a respectable distance to whomever she speaks with rather than outwardly express herself. In a snide sense, Shigeko has also retained her playful nature, stating, to her own chagrin, that she enjoys watching Soul Society “wallow in their own ignorance” in their unending search for her. This attests to her habit of allowing pursuing Shinigami to chase after her for a period of time before turning around and killing them instantly, even though she repeatedly states that she would rather they simply avoid her. Shigeko rarely shows any emotion in her expressions except when she is excitedly bloodthirsty, during which she wears a sly smile. Occasionally, she will also smile while playing the piano. Despite this, she is prone to laugh whenever her opposition is majorly mistaken, a usual an attempt to humiliate or anger them, which greatly amuses her. Ironically, overly timid individuals tend to slightly annoy Shigeko. She evidently does not appreciate humor as well, although this is not something that she expresses. In speech, Shigeko is deceptively polite, speaking in a quiet and refined manner and always addressing individuals with proper honorifics; occasionally, however, Shigeko will attach -sama to the name of her opponent(s) during battle, an unorthodox attempt to mock those who are overly arrogant. When she is greatly angered, however, Shigeko simply addresses individuals by their first name only. She does, to an extent, uphold to bushido and will usually not harm children unless they wish to be taken seriously as warriors; other than habitually taunting them, Shigeko will also refrain from harming overly fearful individuals, which may have been inspired by her childhood. She strongly believes that all battles should be done one-on-one and will, under no circumstances, assist her allies in a battle until they either lose or stand down; likewise, she despises fighting multiple enemies at once even if she has the advantage. Shigeko, while not necessarily arrogant, is very confident in her abilities, often betting to her opponents that they will not even be able to knock away her scarf; however, whenever they do succeed, it usually does not change her attitude towards them nor does she take them any more seriously. This may, in fact, just be a way to bait hot-headed opponents into targeting primarily her scarf, making them more predictable. Her confidence also manifests as an unnatural level of serenity, even in seemingly desperate situations. Despite her attitude, Shigeko is not above occasionally praising her opponents for their strength or cunning. Although Shigeko prefers not to waste unnecessary time in a battle—her reason for aiming to kill most of her opponents in a single blow—for enemies she particularly detests, she intentionally drags out the battle in an effort to prolong their suffering. In most disturbing cases, she abuses her mastery of healing Kidō by “killing” her opponent and then immediately reviving them to continue the torture, doing so repeatedly until she is either satisfied or her opponent is left utterly exhausted. She usually concludes such battles by vertically bisecting her opponent straight down the middle. Shigeko admits that she has somewhat developed a fondness of killing and particularly enjoys the sight of her opponents bleeding out, watching such an event with an almost childlike fascination. Contrary to her sadism, Shigeko hates being likened to a cold-blooded murderer; in fact, it is vaguely implied that Shigeko is, at her core, disgruntled with her actions and behavior, as seen when she states that, while she understands that she must repent for her crimes, she is left with no other choice but to fight until she has completed her “duty.” Very rarely, after killing her opponents, she will briefly form a melancholic expression, further hinting at her regret. Shigeko appears to be largely indifferent to the bonds she once had, stating that they are “not worth remembering.” She distances herself from those who wish to better understand her and condemns those who pity her, considering a sign of weakness to accept help for her own struggles. As such, she is reticent and prone to completely ignore those who verbally try to involve themselves in her affairs. When in her Gigai, Shigeko slightly alters her personality to better integrate herself into human society. Contrasting her true persona, Shigeko is shown almost always wearing a gentle smile. She is generally more verbose as well, liberally giving advice and words of wisdom to those who encounter her. She appears to be willing to indirectly keep humans who grow especially fond of her out of harm's way. Despite her more friendly demeanor, Shigeko refrains from truly bonding with humans as this would be detrimental to her plans. After a day of violence, Shigeko calms herself by dancing and playing the piano, activities which she seems to be very passionate about. In her free time, Shigeko enjoys painting and practicing haiku and calligraphy; she is also shown to be an avid rapier and doll collector, the former of which suggesting that she has developed an interest in fencing. Shigeko keeps her scarf with her at all times and handles it delicately as she states that it holds sentimental value to her. When fighting masses of powerful opponents at once, Shigeko will sometimes remove the scarf to keep it safe from damage. Humorously enough, Shigeko does not believe in karma despite wielding a Zanpakutō with vaguely karmic properties. This may be partially due to the mutual hatred between her and her Zanpakutō. History According to what little is known of her early life, Shigeko spent most of her childhood as a nameless wanderer forced to survive on her own within the streets of District 80 of Rukongai, having lost her entire family to an unknown cause. Shigeko's only belongings at that time were a tattered black scarf and a rusted, chipped sword which she used to defend herself against the numerous murderers she inevitably encountered. According to Shigeko herself, it was only due to pure luck and wit that she, having no formal combat experience at the time, managed to survive against every opponent she faced. After roughly a decade of two of wandering, Shigeko arrived within District 1 of Rukongai. It was around this time that she stumbled upon her best-friend-to-be, Urara Kusahara, a Shinigami-in-training who happened to be commuting home to visit her family. Urara, fascinated by Shigeko and sympathetic to her plight, quickly befriended her despite Shigeko's initial refusal to trust Urara, and Shigeko would be soon after adopted by Urara's parents and given the name Shigeko Kusahara. As a gift, Urara personally repaired Shigeko's scarf and sword, which she kept close to herself at all times even after receiving a Zanpakutō. Despite their close bond, Urara rarely had time to visit her own parents and Shigeko, which greatly fueled Shigeko's newfound desire to become a Shinigami. Once she was deemed ready for tuition, Urara's parents honored Shigeko's wishes and transported her into the Seireitei where she then entered Shin'o Academy. Unlike Urara, Shigeko was not a particularly talented prospect for a Shinigami, having failed the entrance exam a total of three times before finally passing and later graduating on her fifth year at the academy. She was assigned to the 4th division as a result of her relatively superb healing techniques. No drastic changes in her personally were noticed during her time in the division. One night, however, Shigeko unexpectedly disappeared from her division's barracks, taking her original sword with her while leaving behind her scarf, which would later be found by Urara long after it was already too late. When Shigeko was first spotted within the Human World by a low-ranked Shinigami in the only confirmed sighting, it was revealed that she—apparently wielding a different Zanpakutō—now called herself Shigeko Yasuda, a woman virtually recognizable from her younger self. She gave only a cryptic message for the Shinigami to pass on to the rest of Soul Society: “''I must be forgotten.” Powers and Abilities Although regarded as a sub-par Shinigami in her youth, Shigeko's power has mysteriously increased to an unidentifiable level following her reappearance in the Human World. Since Shigeko is rarely seen and tends to end battles as efficiently as possible, very little is known in regards to the true extent of her abilities, although it is generally agreed upon that Shigeko obviously far exceeds captain-level. Many rumors have circulated as to how Shigeko has so greatly diverged in power, the most popular of which being that she is not Shigeko at all, but merely another Shinigami impersonating her. '''Intelligence: '''Although regard at first as average in terms of intellect, Shigeko appears to have grown substantially wiser following her reappearance. She is apparently capable of predicting exactly how Soul Society will act months in advance, supplementing her elusive nature. She is also shown to be a shrewd negotiator, capable of ending any debate in her favor without actually lying. '''Shunpo Mastery: '''As her speed as been frequently compared to literal teleportation, Shigeko appears to be unnaturally skilled in the art of Shunpo. She is shown to be capable of covering massive distances with a single step. Her most impressive display of speed, arguably, is shown when she launches a large Shinigami search party high into the air with an unnamed Kidō and, seconds after, instantaneously slashing them all into unrecognizable masses of gore, seemingly without having moved at all. Shigeko's Shunpo is peculiar in that she can choose not to leave any afterimages of herself at all if she so chooses, even when moving at speeds where such a maneuver should be impossible, causing complete invisibility during high-speed movement. Due to her equally attuned reflexes, even point-blank sneak attacks are partially ineffective against Shigeko as she is capable of dodging the full brunt of attacks almost the instant they touch her. Rarely does Shigeko fully utilize her speed, presumably so as to not wear herself down. '''Abstract Spiritual Pressure: '''Shigeko's reiatsu has changed to the point where it cannot be detected and has absolutely no effect on her surroundings, making it impossible to gauge her level of power, an attribute that greatly unnerves most of her opponents even before a battle begins. This means that either Shigeko can perfectly conceal her reiatsu; she has no reiatsu at all; or her reiatsu is simply too powerful to be detected. Regardless, her reiatsu's properties greatly benefit her in her continued effort to remain hidden. Even during her time in the 4th Division, her then-detectable reiatsu, while insubstantial in power, was ominous in nature, as those subjected to it would report having their entire past play right before their eyes, similar to a near-death experience. Her reiatsu was formally black in coloration. '''Kidō Mastery: '''Shigeko's knowledge with Kidō—in particular, healing Kidō—seems to have reached an unfounded level. She is shown to have acquired knowledge of even archaic, long-forgotten forbidden Kidō. Furthermore, Shigeko demonstrates ingenious use of low-level Kidō, frequently deflecting high level spells with single-digit level Kidō spells. For purposes of torture, Shigeko is especially skilled with binding Kidō, casting even level 99 Bakudō spell without the incantation. Although she usually abuses it, Shigeko is shown to be even more adept with healing Kidō, frequently applying it to major injuries to heal them almost instantly. '''Master Swordsmanship Specialist: '''Shigeko appears to be exceptionally competent in the art of Zanjutsu, but to exactly what extent is unknown. To account for her lack of strength and endurance, Shigeko's Zanjutsu style is almost exclusively built around parrying and countering her opponent's strikes as much as possible without actually blocking or in any way colliding with her opponent's weapon—it is partially inspired by the art of fencing. It is for this reason that Shigeko rarely attacks an opponent first unless they are completely off-guard. When fighting with her Zanpakutō, Shigeko takes full advantage of its superior length and light weight in comparison to most other Zanpakutō, keeping her opponent at a maximum distance by keeping her sword pointed at them. Due to her Zanpakutō's exceptional length, this renders her opponent incapable of attacking without taking a quick step forward, which in turn leaves them open for her deadly Nakakogeki technique. To maximize her reach, Shigeko favors thrusting over slashing with her Zanpakutō; she usually accomplishes this while wielding her Zanpakutō in a single hand, demonstrating her fencing affinity. When striking, Shigeko is especially precise, targeting tendons and major organs in an attempt to immediately incapacitate her opponent and end the battle as quickly as possible; she appears to be especially fond of aiming for the center of the throat. Shigeko's reflexes allow her to adjust her strikes to account for any movement on the opponent's part, meaning that she almost never misses her target regardless of any erratic movement. The full extent of her level of precision and focus is shown when she swiftly cuts a fly in half using a stout forward thrust. Shigeko's slashes are so fast that she can effortlessly create countless afterimages of her swings and daze her opponents, compensating for their lack of raw power; even more impressive, Shigeko can, under apt conditions, reduce her opponent to nothing more than a pool of blood in an instant using an invisible flurry of sword slashes. She is notorious for fending off dozens of opponents at once with nothing but her sword and literally killing most Zanjutsu competitors while they are swinging their swords. Shigeko claims to have invented a number of sword techniques, although so far only one has been seen. *'Mottomonami (尤も波, Natural Wave): A unique form of movement invented and utilized by Shigeko, Mottomonami, in layman's terms, entails eluding attacks aimed above the legs using as little footwork as possible through use of contortion, resulting in minimal change to the user's flow of movement and no interruption in their own attacks—in essence, the user quite literally dances through an opponent's attacks. Shigeko, fully aware of her frailty, created this form of movement to conserve her energy while combating overly aggressive opponents. While Mottomonami is designed to be used against weapons, it can just as easily be used to avoid bare-handed attacks. When used by an individual as flexible and reflexive as Shigeko, Mottomonami can be used to passively dodge the attacks of several opponents at once while aiming strikes at an additional opponent, which Shigeko demonstrates in a battle with three Shinigami Hakuda experts at once. *'Nakakogeki '(なか攻撃, Mid-Attack): Shigeko's signature and most lethal countering technique, Nakakogeki is a marriage between traditional Zanjutsu arts and fencing, although it may only be accomplished with top-notch reflexes and a weapon built similarly to Shigeko's Zanpakutō; furthermore, the user must have an opposite dominant hand to the opponent's so as to strike inside the opponent's attack, making Nakakogeki a primarily left-handed technique. It is usually performed while holding the sword with one hand. Through varying means, Nakakogeki entails attacking an opponent while they are swinging their weapon, rendering them unable to defend. A standard Nakakogeki is always performed with the sword pointed at the opponent. A Nakakogeki user learns to read an opponent's next strike by observing their footwork, allowing for a more timely counteraction. Just as an opponent begins to swing, the Nakakogeki user takes a slight jump back to avoid the attack; at exactly the same time as lurching backwards, the user aims their own strike at the opponent. Because Nakakogeki is attempted while lurching backwards, Shigeko can and will generally aim to bifurcate her opponent above the waist; however, depending on the opponent's swing, this may not be possible. In such cases, Shigeko instead targets the opponent's leg or sword arm in an attempt to dismember it, which almost always follows with an immediate decapitation that exploits the opponent's moment of shock. As stated above, the direction of Nakakogeki's counter swing is dependent on the opponent's own swing and must aim inside of its arc except in the case of downward strikes—with a downward vertical strike, the user simply counters with a horizontal strike; horizontal stikes can also be countered similarly. Angular strikes are countered with identical angular strikes. Nakakogeki can generally not be performed against thrusts as this would require a sharper jump backwards; if the opponent is relatively slow enough, however, it is possible to use a counter-thrust, aimed in accordance with the angle of the opposing thrust, or an angular strike. Because Nakakogeki heavily relies on range, it is also generally impossible to execute against opponents with much longer weapons. On rare occasions, Shigeko demonstrates the use of an inverse Nakakogeki that instead involves ducking and lurching forward during an opponent's attack. Barring the use of Iaido (only viable before a sword fight actually begins), this variation is possible only when the user is positioned slightly to the right of the opponent and the user hugs their sword close to their body; furthermore, it is much more limited in the number of swings it is capable of countering and more impractical as it requires a distinctive stance to use. Compared to a standard Nakakogeki, an inverse Nakakogeki is not as dependent on the reach of the user and the opponent; however, a longer reach is more effective as it allows the user to distance themselves further from the opponent's weapon during the counter attempt. Regardless of how it is executed, because Nakakogeki usually strikes beyond the opponent's maximum range and it is physically impossible for one to timely halt their sword swing to assume a defensive stance, a properly performed Nakakogeki will always be impossible to physically defend against. When fighting a left-handed opponent, Shigeko performs Nakakogeki with her sword held in her right hand, implying that she may be somewhat ambidextrous; in addition, against inexperienced Zanjutsu practitioners, as a result of her Mottomonami, Shigeko can sometimes perform Nakakogeki without any footwork at all. Shigeko states that it is her Nakakogeki alone which has claimed the lives of almost all of her opponents. Zanpakutō '''Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis (涙とスウィートローズ, Sweet Roses and Tears):' '''Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis immediately differs from other Zanpakutō in that it its name, as well as the name of its techniques, are entirely Latin. Considered to be among the most mysterious Zanpakutō in history, both in origin and technique, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis is evidently not the Zanpakutō Shigeko wielded during her time as an obedient Shinigami; Shigeko does, however, claim that it was born from her soul. Its powers are so abstruse that even Shigeko claims to have difficulty fully understanding the nature of its abilities; even so, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis, while not a destructive Zanpakutō, is said to be at a level of its own in terms of power. Based on what has been shown, a basic description of Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' power would be that it observes and manipulates past, present, future and allegorical events in a vaguely karmic and subjectively dharmic manner; it is often mistaken for a space-time Zanpakutō. Because Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis uses its own past experiences as a supplemental weapon, it grows more powerful the longer it exists. In addition, it would appear to be capable of cloning or storing multiple pasts and futures within itself, obtained from Shigeko's enemies or Shigeko herself. In its sealed state, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis takes the form of a nodachi with a perfectly golden pommel and square guard. Its edge is noticeably more pointed in comparison to other swords. A red tuft of fur hangs from the pommel, attached by four golden circular chains. The front of its black scabbard is decorated with a peculiar insignia that protrudes on either side, likewise golden in coloration. Despite its length, Shigeko claims that it is relatively light in weight, enabling her to easily wield it one-handed; however, it still renders her unable to carry her Zanpakutō on her waist. As such, she conceals her Zanpakutō within her scarf through use of an unnamed kidō when it is not in use. Although its materialized form has yet to be seen, Shigeko refers to Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis with feminine pronouns. Shigeko believes that Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' name alludes to its ability to usher elation or absolute terror upon its wielder and those who witness it depending on how it is used. Shigeko is currently unable to directly control most of its techniques. *'Shikai: Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis is released by the command, “'''One divination at a time.” When released, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis does not physically change but radiates with a black energy. **'Shikai Special Ability: '''Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis is a clairvoyant and unfathomably perceptive Zanpakutō, capable of gazing into and meddling with the pasts of infinite individuals within its range. Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis generally turns the opponent's own past and future history against them through karmic methods, but this may be Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' preference rather than the result of any limit to its power; its dharmic power is much more dangerous as it only takes into account Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' views of natural order. Its powers extend beyond simply manipulating the opponent's history—under apt conditions, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis can use the opponent's actions to strengthen Shigeko's own through merging similar events; for example, if Shigeko were to perform a slash completely identical to one recently used by the opponent, it would borrow the opponent's power added with her own. Because only similar events can be merged, this generally only applies to physical actions, but it can also apply to abilities provided they are at least identical enough. While Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis may very well be all-knowing, it deliberately withholds its knowledge from Shigeko except during Oculorum Curator. Shigeko is unable to fully utilize Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' Shikai due to its arrogance, perhaps its only weakness. As a result of Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' influence, Shigeko's already astronomical levels of perception are slightly hightened. ***'Praesentia''' (プレゼンス, presence): A passive ability directly caused by Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' special ability. Any sentient being other than Shigeko herself within the range of fifty metres from Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis is subjected to auditory hallucinations and progressive pain and delirium. These effects are actually inspired by an individual's past—the individual is haunted by the voices of any sentient being they have killed; the delirium is a derivative of all of the confusion and fear the individual had instilled upon any such being; and the pain they experience is, in fact, borrowed from the cumulative physical pain the individual has ever caused. Because Praesentia prevents the individual's pain receptors from shutting down, this effect is fatal in that, if the opponent has caused enough suffering, such pain can easily grow intense enough to kill any individual from a heart attack; however, Deus Et Formica tends to trigger long before this happens. In addition, the delirium can grow to the extent that the individual loses all of their awareness and reasoning. If any individual has lived an almost entirely pure life, they may be able to endure Praesentia without any fatal trauma; any other individual is doomed to eventually die should they remain within Praesentia's radius for too long. Shigeko states that, due to Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' apparently vindictive nature, even she will begin to fall victim to Praesentia once Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis has deemed that it has remained in Shikai for too long; the time it takes for this to happen is a rough equivalent of twice the time it takes for most opponents to die due to Praesentia, assuming Deus Et Formica does not trigger first. In effect, Shigeko can only use her Shikai effectively for roughly twenty minutes, more or less depending on Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' mood. Because Shigeko currently has absolutely no control over Praesentia, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis is unsuited for teamwork. While it was initially believed that Praesentia was caused by Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' reiatsu, it is in fact a partially indirect result of Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' continuous observation of past events; Praesentia's radius would be much greater otherwise. It is rumored that Praesentia is somehow the cause of why most individuals have difficulty remembering Shigeko, suggesting that there is more to this technique than understood. ***'Est Unus Praeteritae '(一つは、過去のある, Past is One): Shigeko explains that once Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' blade comes in contact with any object, sentient being, Zanpakutō or ability, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis literally evaluates the target's past in-depth; in doing so, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis is capable of reaching into the past and causing the target to relive a single traumatic memory or painful event, or even every such occurance at once. To put this technique into perspective, Est Unus Praeteritae is, when used to its fullest, capable of inflicting every single physical or mental wound and illness an opponent has ever sustained, utterly obliterating most opponents as a result of their own past. Est Unus Praeteritae applies to Zanpakutō and other weapons in that, if a weapon has been previously broken or nicked, Est Unus Praeteritae will consistently cause the weapon to shatter similarly every time it comes into contact with Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis. Est Unus Praeteritae is also effective against Zanpakutō spirits, which, depending on its history, can potentially result in a Shinigami being unable to control their Zanpakutō for a period of time or, in a worst-case scenario, erase it entirely; its most lenient effect is simply regressing the Zanpakutō back to its sealed state, which will always occur if nothing more serious will apply. Energy-related abilities are evaluated and affected similarly to Zanpakutō—because every energy construct eventually dissipates or is cancelled, Est Unus Praeteritae will always be perfectly effective against them, provided they were used before. Shigeko has no control over how Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis will apply Est Unus Praeteritae—although Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis generally elects to fully utilize Est Unus Praeteritae, it will sometimes only evaluate and revive a single past trauma; even more rarely, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis chooses not to activate Est Unus Praeteritae at all. Shigeko states that Est Unus Praeteritae would affect even her if she were to touch Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' blade, although to a lesser extent so that it would not be fatal. ***'Res Sicut Debet Esse '(ケースであるように, As Things Should be): A passive ability activated whenever Shigeko is injured or physically touched while she is holding Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis. Unlike Est Unus Praeteritae, Res Sicut Debet Esse basically means to evaluate the user's past; however, once a traumatic event is selected, Res Sicut Debet Esse revives the trauma but instead transfers it to the one who injured the user. Like Est Unus Praeteritae, Shigeko has almost no control over exactly what this technique will do; Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' most common application of Res Sicut Debut Esse, however, is to evaluate Shigeko's injury and apply it to the opponent in exactly the same manner. If for some reason the opponent is incapable of experiencing Shigeko's selected trauma, Res Sicut Debet Esse can be used to more severely punish the opponent; for example, if Shigeko's left arm were to be injured by an opponent without a left arm, Res Sicut Debet Esse may decapitate them instead. Shigeko states that this type of substitution is vaguely dependent on the opponent's emotions. Although technically Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis is capable of applying Res Sicut Debet Esse to individuals who simply touch Shigeko, it does not always do so—Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis partially takes into consideration the individual's intentions, meaning it is much more likely to activate this variation on opponents; regardless, when Res Sicut Debet Esse is triggered this way, its effect is completely unpredictable. The most frighening effect of Res Sicut Debet Esse is that after it is first used on the opponent, Shigeko's past trauma “bleeds” into the opponent's future. This means that any opponent is very likely to experience unfavorable events long after they are first subjected to Res Sicut Debet Esse. Shigeko explains that this occurs because, in a single instant, Res Sicut Debet Esse clones Shigeko's entire traumatic past and merges it and the opponent's future into one, creating an ephemeral paradox during which Res Sicut Debet Esse filters out unwanted events in accordance to Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' will, a process which cannot be definitively completed. It is therefore quite likely that Res Sicut Debet Esse is far more powerful than even its usual application would suggest. Res Sicut Debet Esse will not activate if the opponent happens to be grabbing the hilt of Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis while attacking Shigeko; this is because Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis is, by itself, incapable of detecting individuals who do so unless the individual is weary enough or Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' blade comes into contact with them, which consequently triggers both Res Sicut Debet Esse and Est Unus Praeteritae. ****'Res Sicut Debet Esse: Veritas '(真実ケースであるように, As Things Should be: Truth): A variant of Res Sicut Debet Esse and a dharmic power which activates according to Shigeko's will, Veritas is essentially the same except that it negates any damage Shigeko has recently sustained. Instead of simply cloning Shigeko's past, Veritas directly removes a recent trauma within her past and inserts it into the opponent's immediate future—Shigeko's own trauma is rendered completely void and transferred onto the opponent. As with its progenitor, Veritas occurs within a single instant, but it is much more precise in that it does not involve merging past and future together; as a result, Veritas does not cause a “bleed” effect. Because of the tremendous power required for such a feat, Shigeko can only utilize Veritas thrice before Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis regresses back into its sealed state for an undisclosed period of time. Unlike its progenitor, Veritas cannot be prevented by simply grabbing Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' hilt. *****'Veritas Ultimus '(真諦, Ultimate Truth): Not yet revealed. ***'Deus Et Formica '(デウスとフォーマイカ, Ant and God): One of Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' Dharmic powers, Deus Et Formica is a passive ability activated whenever an opponent is either mortally wounded by Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis or physically or mentally exhausted, Shigeko states that Deus Et Formica is meant to punish those who disrespect Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis by showing weakness in its presence or believing that they can overcome its wraith with nothing more than an essentially immortal body. Deus Et Formica definitively kills the opponent by “grabbing” the very core of their soul and shattering it into non-existence. In explanation, when an opponent is weakened enough, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis is capable of gazing entirely into their thoughts, past, and future unconditionally, gaining a definitive understanding of the individual. While Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis is, in theory, capable of attempting to enshroud a soul at any time, an absolutely perfect understanding of the individual is required to form an appropriate grip on their soul. Once the opponent's soul has been captured, its future is literally erased, causing the opponent to simply vanish. Deus Et Formica is a flawless offensive technique in that, once its conditions have been met, it is inescapable, unstoppable and certain to kill any opponent. Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis is much more hesitant in using Deus Et Formica against opponents who are simply under the profound effect of Praesentia, a result of its sadism. ***'Gladiorum Talio '(そのような剣, Swords of Retribution): One of Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' few long-ranged abilities, generally activated by pointing the blade at the opponent and calling out the name of the techique. Upon activation of Gladiorum Talio, the opponent is continually attacked by randomly-generated spectral swords. These swords may appear in any location nearby the opponent and disappear should they miss their intended target. It may only be used on up to three opponents at once and can only be activated once per Shikai on each opponent. Although randomized, it usually does not take more than a minute for a sword to appear; sometimes mor e than one sword will appear at a time. The true significance of this technique lies in its effect and duration. Befitting of their appearance, the swords themselves are not actually real—they are metaphysical in that, while they cannot literally interact with anything, they are still capable of damaging the opponent upon phasing through them by evaluating and taking advantage of their past; this usually results in the opponent sustaining every wound they have ever inflicted on any sentient being, paralleling the effect of Est Unus Praeteritae. Because of their properties, the swords generated by Gladiorum Talio are impossible to defend against and can only be avoided. Gladiorum Talio does not end under any circumstances until its target dies or the number of swords that have been generated is precisely equal to the number of beings that the intended target has killed—even returning Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis to its sealed state does not end the technique. Shigeko can, to a limited extent, increase the interval between swords so that Gladiorum Talio potentially lasts days if its target has killed enough sentient beings. The speed at which a Gladiorum Talio sword approaches its target gradually increases the longer the technique lasts—while it is at first slow enough for most individuals to elude upon timely reaction, it is known to eventually exceed lightspeed; it is unknown if Gladiorum Talio's potential speed has any limit. Although Gladiorum Talio alone is capable of easily killing an opponent should it ever connent, Shigeko perfers to utilize it as a constant distraction. Because of its lethal properties combined with extreme duration, Shigeko only uses it on opponents she has decisively chosen to kill. ****'Gladiorum Talio: Homo Unus '(一人の男そのような剣, Swords of Retribution: One Man): A more direct and flexible, but mostly inferior variation of Gladiorum Talio. Unlike its progenitor, Shigeko can activate Homo Unus without calling out its name. Homo Unus immediately generates a single blade within the opponent's vicinity to attack them. It further differs from its progenitor in that, once contact has been made, the sword selects and manipulates only a single fatal wound that the opponent has ever inflicted; its true significance is that it causes an opponent to die from an injury that may not normally be fatal for them. This occurs because Homo Unus uses the opponent's past to branch out and gather additional information from the recipient of the opponent's evaluated dealt injury to perfectly recreate the physical and mental effect it had on the recipient. As with its progenitor, Homo Unus has variable speed, which is dependent on how many times it has been used on the same target. When Shigeko executes Homo Unus, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis reaches into the technique's history to find similar instances of its present usage—whether or not it was used on a similar target. If successful, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis is capable of merging events and "stacking" multiple instances of its use together, essentially doubling its speed every time it is used; therefore, while Homo Unus is initially relatively slow, it will eventually become too fast for the opponent to dodge if it is repeatedly executed. Homo Unus initially moves at a rate of six-hundred mph, so it would therefore take twenty-two uses on the same target for it to exceed lightspeed; the following usage would render it nearly four times faster. Because Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis cannot instantly merge events, Homo Unus' preperation time gradually increases. Homo Unus never resets, meaning that if Shigeko were to use it seven times on an opponent without killing them, and then encountered the same opponent years later, the chain would still resume upon executing Homo Unus on them again. Shigeko can use Homo Unus without limit, but not without an interval in between usages. ****'Gladiorum Talio: Mulier Unus '(一女性そのような剣, Swords of Retribution: One Woman): Another variation that materializes a single sword to be wielded by Shigeko. Although the sword is spectral in appearance, it is completely solid, enabling it to cut through objects. When Homo Mulier's blade comes into contact with anything, it produces an identical effect to the standard Gladiorum Talio sword; inanimate objects are therefore unaffected. Shigeko often uses this variation while Adlevamentum Et Taciturnitas is active. *****'Mulier Unus: Terror '(恐怖一女性そのような剣, One Woman: Terror): A dharmic ability that supposedly occurs whenever an opponent unwittingly shatters a Mulier Unus sword. It has yet to be revealed. ***'Gladii Inanitas '(無駄に剣, Sword of Void): Vastly different from Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' other abilities, Gladii Inanitas alters Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' blade into a spectral, metaphysical form, similar to the swords of Gladiorum Talio. In this form, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' blade is capable of phasing through any object and, as such, it is also incapable of literally cutting anything; when Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis is swung in this state, however, anything within the swing's arc a half-second later is entirely wiped from existence—the swing itself does not interact with anything. Shigeko explains that when she swings during this technique, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis reaches into its own past and uses the event of the swing as a vector to increase the influence of its power. Using a clone of Shigeko's entire past as a map, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis deletes the event from every pertinent past other than its own, enabling it to register the swing as a paradoxical occurrence, which it then undoes, taking everything directly within its arc along with it. Until Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis fully repairs the anomaly (a half-second after the initial swing), any individual nearby except Shigeko will forget that the swing occurred at all, commonly resulting in the opponent remaining in or falling back into the swing's arc; the loss and subsequent return of their memory has a side effect of heavily disorienting them, especially if this technique is repeatedly executed. This entire process takes roughly thirty nanoseconds to complete, hence the interval between the swing and the actual effect. Given that Shigeko seems to be capable of making tens of thousands of precise slashes in a single instant, Gladii Inanitas is far more dangerous than one might believe when considering its interval; an obvious weakness, however, is that it cannot be used to deflect high-speed attacks due to said interval, but this is hardly an issue for Shigeko as her Zanjutsu prioritizes circumvention. Gladii Inanitas greatly enhances Shigeko's Zanjutsu as it enables her to use Nakakogeki far more liberally; however, Gladii Inanitas cannot trigger Est Unus Praeteritae unless Shigeko cancels Gladii Inanitas the moment Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis phases inside of a target. Gladii Inanitas can also be performed with a Mulier Unus sword as it is an extension of Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis, although the swing-effect interval increases to a second. ***'Dictātor Consonus '(独裁者の子音, Harmonious Dictator): A technique Shgeko can willingly activate whenever an opponent executes two similar maneuvers over a very short period of time. Borrowing a concept from Homo Unus, Dictātor Consonus is capable of undoing an action and setting an opponent back into a similar state as when after ''they executed the evaluated action from the past, leaving them completely helpless. This applies to any sort of action, including physical movement. If Dictātor Consonus is active, then just as an opponent makes any significant maneuvre overly similar to one made in their immediate past, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis clones the two events within its own past, modifies and, as with Homo Unus, merges the two occurrences together before inserting them back into the opponent's history, resulting in a setback; to put this into perspective, if an opponent were to perform a complete downward vertical slash with a sword, and then tried to do the same seconds after, their body would instead instantaneously be positioned as if they had already performed the swing. Dictātor Consonus muddles the opponent's memory as a side effect, making them believe that their action was successfully executed as it was previously; consequently, this can cause the opponent to execute the same action again, essentially trapping them in an endless cycle until they are interrupted or Dictātor Consonus is cancelled. Dictātor Consonus can only be applied to recent and similar actions three seconds between each other because the process would take too long otherwise. ***'Adlevamentum Et Taciturnitas (緩和と沈黙, Silence and Alleviation): Arguably Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' most frightening ability in Shikai, Adlevamentum Et Taciturnitas borrows key concepts from both Gladiorum Talio and Deus Et Formica and turns imagination into reality. Upon activation of Adlevamentum Et Taciturnitas, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis compresses itself into a small, black metaphysical orb, leaving Shigeko unarmed. In this form, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis acts entirely on its own; its main purpose is to phase into the desired target and initiate the next step of the technique, but because the black orb is sentient, there is no way of predicting how it will attempt to do so; it is, however, known to adapt to the opponent's methods of dodging it, making it progressively dangerous. If the orb phases through anything other than the desired target, Est Unus Praeteritae will be triggered instead, although Adlevamentum Et Taciturnitas itself is not cancelled. When the orb successfully phases through the desired target, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis draws upon Shigeko's imagination to damage the target using a similar method as Res Sicut Debet Esse. This is possible because the orb's close proximity to the target's soul grants Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis a more intimate understanding of them in a similar fashion to when Deus Et Formica is used. Once the orb is close enough, Shigeko has a split second to freshly imagine a way to affect the target, with difficulty varying in accordance to the complexity of the imagination. If not timed correctly, the orb will simply pass through the target without any effect; if she is successful, however, Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis transfers Shigeko's imagination to the target's near-future by inserting Shigeko's cloned past into itself and inserting Shigeko's imagination into her faux past, giving it quasi-similar status to an actual event and making Adlevamentum Et Taciturnitas' effect possible. Because an imagination is something that exists within the mind but cannot literally be taken out of subconsciousness and made real, any wound inflicted by Adlevamentum Et Taciturnitas cannot be healed and will never regenerate (preventing coagulation of the wound and therefore causing it to bleed endlessly) as the converted imagination still maintains its key concept while physically affecting the target, creating a paradox that turns the target's previous ideal state into the imagination; technically, however, Shigeko can somewhat restore the target's previous natural state by executing Adlevamentum Et Taciturnitas again and reversing the process. If aimed at emotions, Shigeko can permanently alter the target's personality. Shigeko states that while Adlevamentum Et Taciturnitas can be used to aid a target, this is extremely difficult as wholly positive imaginations are usually too complex to register into the technique in time. While this technique is active, Shigeko cannot use Res Sicut Debet Esse (Veritas and its variant can still be used if Shigeko is holding a Mulier Unus sword) and primarily fights with Kidō and Mulier Unus. ****'''Adlevamentum Et Taciturnitas: Ventorum Impetus (風の力緩和と沈黙, Silence and Alleviation: Winds of Force; Gust): Not yet revealed. ***'Oculorum Curator '(目の守護者, Eyes of the Overseer): Not yet revealed. ****'Oculorum Curator: Unus Et Unus '(一つずつ目の守護者, Eyes of the Overseer: One and One): Not yet revealed. *'Bankai: '''Not yet revealed, although it is known that it is named '''Memoria Ex Deus Ab Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis' (神の記憶涙とスウィートローズ, Sweet Roses and Tears from a God out of a Memory). Shigeko refers to Memoria Ex Deus Ab Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis as “the ultimate enactment of sadism,” hinting at its abilities. Quotes *(About Lacrimae Et Rosae Suavis) “''To her, her dominance is the only dharma of reality''.” *“''I will one day atone for my sins...but not now.''” Trivia *All images used in this article were drawn by the author. Category:Female Category:Rogue Shinigami Category:4th Division Category:Neutral